COFFIN. In ordinary sense, n burial - case; usually a box or chest, in which the dead are inelosed for interment. or sometimes for crema tion. In modern times the ordinary material I If the ease is wood, usually with metallic attach ments; lead, copper, iron, glass.terra-cotta,stone. etc., are sometimes employed. In earlier times the collie was chiefly symbolic rather than merely utilitarian, and the material and form varied widely; and the early customs find parallels- and interpretations among those of primitive peo ples still surviving. Perhaps the simplest type of burial-case is that of the Seri Indians (q.v.) ; among them the body of a deceased matron is dressed and decorated, folded in small compass in a shallow grave (perhaps floored with a large turtle plastron), supplied with food and imple ments, and then covered with a large carapace; this shell of a tutelary deity being regarded as a protection, both actual and symbolic. Among the
Papago Indians a corpse is merely enshrouded in all the habiliments of life, and then placed in a miniature 'house of the dead' made of stone or wood in imitation of a dwelling; and this type grades among various peoples into eists of slabs, rock-hewn sepulchres, ornate tombs, and massive sarcophagi. Among riparian and mari time peoples of lowly culture the canoe or boat is the symbol of the home, and the body of a deceased owner may he placed in his vessel. which is portable, and may be borne to a chosen place of sepulture; and it is this type of burial case which can be traced through the customs of many peoples to the ordinary coffin of mod ern times. See BURIAL; MUM MY-CASE ; SARCOPH AGUS; and MAN, SCIENCE OF.